5 ms·

Let's Map the Silicon Valley Startups

64 points by adamr 13y ago

asDasdasDads 13y ago
Hell ya, this sounds so dope dude
pserwylo 13y ago
Nice simple, well implemented idea. I have a question which often comes up when I hear about "startups" on HN or in mainstream media. When is a company no longer a "startup"? I know it's been addressed before, and there is no shortage of answers around [0]. But I can't help but think that, given my intuitive understanding, companies such as Atlassian are no longer startups. [0] - https://duckduckgo.com/?q=when+is+a+company+no+longer+a+startup%3F https://duckduckgo.com/?q=when+is+a+company+no+longer+a+star...
- simonw 13y ago
  There is no formal definition of a "startup". A local restaurant that just opened can be thought of as a startup, but it's not what this particular community would think of as one. Personally I like Steve Blank's definition: "a startup is an organization formed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model" - which would suggest that once you've found (and proven) your repeatable, scalable business model you stop being a startup. I wouldn't hold a company to that definition if they thought otherwise though.
- pbiggar 13y ago
  PG gave a definition [1] a while back, which was that startups were about growth. That seems the best definition I can think of: when you say you're doing a startup, I can implicitly understand that you're trying to build a scalable business that can grow very quickly. It also means that in addition to figuring out what your product should be, you are also in search of a sustainable growth strategy. Of course, lots of people outside this definition call their small businesses "startups",esp tech people, and it feels like this is because they want to be part of the startup community. This seems good to me, so I think we shouldn't be too tight with our definitions. [1] http://www.paulgraham.com/growth.html http://www.paulgraham.com/growth.html
- Tossrock 13y ago
  Well, there's two parts to this question really. What makes a newly founded company a startup in the first place, and when does such a company stop being a startup? The other comments addressed the first part (scalable business centered on growth), but the second part is a bit more nebulous. pg gave an off the cuff answer at YC's Work For a Startup day which was pretty insightful: "When politics starts working."
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- DavidAdams 13y ago
  Steve Blank has a good and well-known definition for the term startup: "an organization formed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model." http://steveblank.com/2010/01/25/whats-a-startup-first-principles/ http://steveblank.com/2010/01/25/whats-a-startup-first-princ... In this sense, a typical new restaurant or dry cleaner isn't a startup, because they're following an established business model. A startup restaurant would be experimenting with innovative pricing, production, or other techniques, and would probably have to tweak its model on the road to success and would face an outsized risk of failure.
RKoutnik 13y ago
There's at least three errors on the map: Ludei, Leanplum, and Driveway Software are all listed at 181 Fremont st, the former home of RocketSpace [0]. RS is now at 225 Bush and 180 Sansome. [0] http://rocket-space.com/ http://rocket-space.com/
- robbiet480 13y ago
  Don't forget 340 Pine!
- adamr 13y ago
  Thanks for pointing out the mistakes! Fixing them now.
jaredsohn 13y ago
Crunchbase Maps also does this: http://www.crunchbase.com/maps/city/San%2520Francisco http://www.crunchbase.com/maps/city/San%2520Francisco
- dabomv93105 13y ago
  This is only for San Francisco. I think what they are trying to do is to unite all of silicon valley on an easy to use, HTML5 driven user interface. Crunchbase on the other hand, appears to have limited functionality and is sparsely populated. Crunchbase' main product is not its company map, whereas MISV has the potential to build out a platform that can provide real utility for job hunters, investors, interns, etc.
  - jaredsohn 13y ago
    I mentioned Crunchbase maps since that was the first site that I was aware of that did this kind of thing. It is certainly possible to do it better. >This is only for San Francisco. I just linked to the SF map (notice the URL); maps exist for other areas, too. >Crunchbase on the other hand, appears to have limited functionality and is sparsely populated. Functionality-wise, the sites are pretty similar except Crunchbase maps doesn't list jobs (location-based job search engines do exist, though) and to alter information you need to go to another part of the site. Crunchbase maps obviously looks aged and doesn't even include all data points on the same map so this site is better in that regard. However, if you include the non-SF maps Crunchbase maps has much more data than this does (at least right now and some of that data may be outdated.) They also offer a RESTful API and might (not sure) allow you lots of flexibility for using that data (worth looking into at least).
sethbannon 13y ago
A similar (far more complete) effort in NYC: http://mappedinny.com/ http://mappedinny.com/
- WayneDB 13y ago
  I love it. Thanks for this.
zbowling 13y ago
I know where several startups are located. Wish I could bulk add.
- ekatz11 13y ago
  You can. Please email your information(in whichever format you prefer) to sv@mappedinsiliconvalley.com and we will be happy to add them all to the database. Thank you so much and we hope you enjoy the site
jmspring 13y ago
They show Double Dutch being down here in Santa Cruz, yet it is in the city. Even on the map, they show the address as: 2601 Mission St, San Francisco, CA, So, something is goofy.
- adamr 13y ago
  Hey, something is going on with the addresses. I am verifying each one and correcting the errors. Thanks for pointing these errors out!
AliAdams 13y ago
http://TechBritain.com http://TechBritain.com is doing that for the entire UK
chuckd1356 13y ago
Let's not forget Portsmouth, NH... heh http://seacoast.io http://seacoast.io
Alpert8 13y ago
Great app! Very cool to see where all the start ups are. Also, this is useful for job hunters.
zzleeper 13y ago
Great job! Just a devil's advocate question.. why do you guys think that these locations matter anyways, besides for mere curiosity of seeing them on a map? [I'm thinking of doing some research about this, that's why I'm asking]
- level09 13y ago
  for me it's actually just interesting to know where these startups are based. (i'm not based in US). in case I visit SF I'd probably have a street view look at these offices and plan some kind of trip or something
- jaredsohn 13y ago
  It is great if you want to optimize for commute when looking for a job. Obviously, location isn't the only factor that matters when choosing a job (otherwise you might as well work at the corner McDonalds) but if you know that your next job will have a great commute and/or be located in a convenient place for your non-work life, it has some positives going in. Also, if an area has a huge number of interesting companies in it, chances may be good that it contains an interesting company that would be a good fit for you, one that you might not have otherwise been aware of.
mountaineer 13y ago
These are always fun. I did one 7 years ago for all of Web 2.0[1]. Didn't crunchbase ever produce a mapped view? I thought they had at some point. [1] http://www.ryan-williams.net/web20map/ http://www.ryan-williams.net/web20map/
level09 13y ago
Nice work, Here here are some additional tips :) 1. Overlapping markers problem can be resolved in a nicer way 2. markers will look nicer if replaced with vectors (svg) 3. instead of loading all companies to the client side you could load them through ajax and win some performance
keefe 13y ago
what's up with the peninsula being so empty?
daharon 13y ago
Startups in and around Tel Aviv: http://mappedinisrael.com http://mappedinisrael.com
virtuz 13y ago
Startup Genome has been doing this for a long time, with data for many cities around the world: http://www.startupgenome.com/ http://www.startupgenome.com/
_august 13y ago
A lot of the links are not right.. for example https//www.tripping.com is missing the colon after https, so the site can't load. Other than that, great idea! This is super useful when looking at potential companies for job opportunities.
adamr 13y ago
Thanks for the support everyone. It's the first website I've made and worked on so I'll be updating everything but it might take a little while. Glad to see such a positive response. Keep pointing out the mistakes so I can get them fixed!
HistoryInAction 13y ago
In touch with Shane @ Startup Genome? http://www.startupgenome.com/ http://www.startupgenome.com/
- adamr 13y ago
  messaged him, no response.
gdltec 13y ago
We are also working and looking to map tech companies in general, not only startups at http://www.thetechmap.com http://www.thetechmap.com
rileyk 13y ago
what an incredible idea. this is such a great way to easily put startups in touch with the rest of the world!

64 points by adamr 13y ago

Hell ya, this sounds so dope dude

Nice simple, well implemented idea. I have a question which often comes up when I hear about "startups" on HN or in mainstream media. When is a company no longer a "startup"? I know it's been addressed before, and there is no shortage of answers around [0]. But I can't help but think that, given my intuitive understanding, companies such as Atlassian are no longer startups. [0] - https://duckduckgo.com/?q=when+is+a+company+no+longer+a+startup%3F https://duckduckgo.com/?q=when+is+a+company+no+longer+a+star...

simonw 13y ago
There is no formal definition of a "startup". A local restaurant that just opened can be thought of as a startup, but it's not what this particular community would think of as one. Personally I like Steve Blank's definition: "a startup is an organization formed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model" - which would suggest that once you've found (and proven) your repeatable, scalable business model you stop being a startup. I wouldn't hold a company to that definition if they thought otherwise though.
pbiggar 13y ago
PG gave a definition [1] a while back, which was that startups were about growth. That seems the best definition I can think of: when you say you're doing a startup, I can implicitly understand that you're trying to build a scalable business that can grow very quickly. It also means that in addition to figuring out what your product should be, you are also in search of a sustainable growth strategy. Of course, lots of people outside this definition call their small businesses "startups",esp tech people, and it feels like this is because they want to be part of the startup community. This seems good to me, so I think we shouldn't be too tight with our definitions. [1] http://www.paulgraham.com/growth.html http://www.paulgraham.com/growth.html
Tossrock 13y ago
Well, there's two parts to this question really. What makes a newly founded company a startup in the first place, and when does such a company stop being a startup? The other comments addressed the first part (scalable business centered on growth), but the second part is a bit more nebulous. pg gave an off the cuff answer at YC's Work For a Startup day which was pretty insightful: "When politics starts working."
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
DavidAdams 13y ago
Steve Blank has a good and well-known definition for the term startup: "an organization formed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model." http://steveblank.com/2010/01/25/whats-a-startup-first-principles/ http://steveblank.com/2010/01/25/whats-a-startup-first-princ... In this sense, a typical new restaurant or dry cleaner isn't a startup, because they're following an established business model. A startup restaurant would be experimenting with innovative pricing, production, or other techniques, and would probably have to tweak its model on the road to success and would face an outsized risk of failure.

RKoutnik 13y ago

There's at least three errors on the map: Ludei, Leanplum, and Driveway Software are all listed at 181 Fremont st, the former home of RocketSpace [0]. RS is now at 225 Bush and 180 Sansome. [0] http://rocket-space.com/ http://rocket-space.com/

robbiet480 13y ago
Don't forget 340 Pine!
adamr 13y ago
Thanks for pointing out the mistakes! Fixing them now.

jaredsohn 13y ago

Crunchbase Maps also does this: http://www.crunchbase.com/maps/city/San%2520Francisco http://www.crunchbase.com/maps/city/San%2520Francisco

dabomv93105 13y ago
This is only for San Francisco. I think what they are trying to do is to unite all of silicon valley on an easy to use, HTML5 driven user interface. Crunchbase on the other hand, appears to have limited functionality and is sparsely populated. Crunchbase' main product is not its company map, whereas MISV has the potential to build out a platform that can provide real utility for job hunters, investors, interns, etc.
- jaredsohn 13y ago
  I mentioned Crunchbase maps since that was the first site that I was aware of that did this kind of thing. It is certainly possible to do it better. >This is only for San Francisco. I just linked to the SF map (notice the URL); maps exist for other areas, too. >Crunchbase on the other hand, appears to have limited functionality and is sparsely populated. Functionality-wise, the sites are pretty similar except Crunchbase maps doesn't list jobs (location-based job search engines do exist, though) and to alter information you need to go to another part of the site. Crunchbase maps obviously looks aged and doesn't even include all data points on the same map so this site is better in that regard. However, if you include the non-SF maps Crunchbase maps has much more data than this does (at least right now and some of that data may be outdated.) They also offer a RESTful API and might (not sure) allow you lots of flexibility for using that data (worth looking into at least).

sethbannon 13y ago

A similar (far more complete) effort in NYC: http://mappedinny.com/ http://mappedinny.com/

WayneDB 13y ago
I love it. Thanks for this.

zbowling 13y ago

I know where several startups are located. Wish I could bulk add.

ekatz11 13y ago
You can. Please email your information(in whichever format you prefer) to sv@mappedinsiliconvalley.com and we will be happy to add them all to the database. Thank you so much and we hope you enjoy the site

jmspring 13y ago

They show Double Dutch being down here in Santa Cruz, yet it is in the city. Even on the map, they show the address as: 2601 Mission St, San Francisco, CA, So, something is goofy.

adamr 13y ago
Hey, something is going on with the addresses. I am verifying each one and correcting the errors. Thanks for pointing these errors out!

AliAdams 13y ago

http://TechBritain.com http://TechBritain.com is doing that for the entire UK

chuckd1356 13y ago

Let's not forget Portsmouth, NH... heh http://seacoast.io http://seacoast.io

Alpert8 13y ago

Great app! Very cool to see where all the start ups are. Also, this is useful for job hunters.

zzleeper 13y ago

Great job! Just a devil's advocate question.. why do you guys think that these locations matter anyways, besides for mere curiosity of seeing them on a map? [I'm thinking of doing some research about this, that's why I'm asking]

level09 13y ago
for me it's actually just interesting to know where these startups are based. (i'm not based in US). in case I visit SF I'd probably have a street view look at these offices and plan some kind of trip or something
jaredsohn 13y ago
It is great if you want to optimize for commute when looking for a job. Obviously, location isn't the only factor that matters when choosing a job (otherwise you might as well work at the corner McDonalds) but if you know that your next job will have a great commute and/or be located in a convenient place for your non-work life, it has some positives going in. Also, if an area has a huge number of interesting companies in it, chances may be good that it contains an interesting company that would be a good fit for you, one that you might not have otherwise been aware of.

mountaineer 13y ago

These are always fun. I did one 7 years ago for all of Web 2.0[1]. Didn't crunchbase ever produce a mapped view? I thought they had at some point. [1] http://www.ryan-williams.net/web20map/ http://www.ryan-williams.net/web20map/

level09 13y ago

Nice work, Here here are some additional tips :) 1. Overlapping markers problem can be resolved in a nicer way 2. markers will look nicer if replaced with vectors (svg) 3. instead of loading all companies to the client side you could load them through ajax and win some performance

keefe 13y ago

what's up with the peninsula being so empty?

daharon 13y ago

Startups in and around Tel Aviv: http://mappedinisrael.com http://mappedinisrael.com

virtuz 13y ago

Startup Genome has been doing this for a long time, with data for many cities around the world: http://www.startupgenome.com/ http://www.startupgenome.com/

_august 13y ago

A lot of the links are not right.. for example https//www.tripping.com is missing the colon after https, so the site can't load. Other than that, great idea! This is super useful when looking at potential companies for job opportunities.

adamr 13y ago

Thanks for the support everyone. It's the first website I've made and worked on so I'll be updating everything but it might take a little while. Glad to see such a positive response. Keep pointing out the mistakes so I can get them fixed!

HistoryInAction 13y ago

In touch with Shane @ Startup Genome? http://www.startupgenome.com/ http://www.startupgenome.com/

adamr 13y ago
messaged him, no response.

gdltec 13y ago

We are also working and looking to map tech companies in general, not only startups at http://www.thetechmap.com http://www.thetechmap.com

rileyk 13y ago

what an incredible idea. this is such a great way to easily put startups in touch with the rest of the world!